Lilikoi jelly craving met on mainland

Not many people can amass a good quantity of genuine lilikoi, but Meredith Morioka has a freezer full -- in, of all places, New Mexico.

"Who'd have thought that in the wilds of northern New Mexico I would be given bags and bags of fresh lilikoi?" Morioka writes. "In all the years I lived in Hawaii I never had a lilikoi jelly recipe ... didn't need one. Now I have a freezer full of lilikoi pulp and a new bag of fresh lilikoi and no recipe, and no luck searching for one online."

Varieties of lilikoi -- or passion fruit -- do grow in mainland climes, in areas where there's no frost. That said, you'd think it would be possible to find a jelly formula, but Morioka's right; the usual Internet sources come up dry.

So, on to the venerable "Fruits of Hawaii" cookbook, first printed in 1945 by the University of Hawaii Press (revised editions may be found on amazon.com).

To make her jelly, Morioka will first need to squeeze that pulp through a double thickness of cheesecloth to make juice. Anyone starting with fresh fruit should scoop out the pulp, remove the seeds and squeeze.

Passion Fruit Jelly

Combine juice, water and sugar in large saucepan; stir well. Place over high heat and bring to boil, stirring constantly. Immediately add pectin. Return to full, rolling boil, then boil rapidly for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat, skim and pour into sterilized glasses.

Jelly sets slowly. It will be soft at first, then get firmer after several weeks.

For the greater masses who can't get fresh fruit, the new edition of "The Tastes and Tales of Moiliili" (Mutual Publishing, $14.95, available at most bookstores and Longs Drug Stores in Moiliili, Kaimuki and Hawaii Kai) offers a recipe using frozen juice concentrate.